Have you ever had a best friend move away? Someone you confided in, cared about and shared everything with? Jen and I were friends throughout middle school; for years we were inseparable. People referred to us as “twins” because we looked and thought alike.

One day she asked me to come over because she had something important to tell me. We decided to walk to Dairy Queen, and it was there my friend hit me with the heart-breaking news. She was leaving to start a whole new life. Her dad had been promoted and had to move. I figured they were just going to a nearby town, but when she said Texas, I began to realize just how different my life was going to be. From then until Jen left, we spent every possible moment together.

The day she walked out my door for the last time is one of the saddest I can remember. Both of us were sobbing. We embraced one last time and then my best friend was gone. I cried that night and many others.
I heard from Jen that weekend. She hated Texas; it was nothing like home, but it was home, her new home. We made a pact that we would talk every Saturday at 1 p.m. The funny thing is, every Saturday at 1 p.m., I hear Jen’s voice. I think we’ve only missed our Saturday conversations five times in two years.
No one thought we could maintain our friendship. Our parents thought we’d lose touch after a month or two, but we knew in our hearts we wouldn’t. We were too close to let that happen. All the moments and secrets we shared were too precious to let slip away just because we have a few states between us. Our friendship hasn’t even changed much. Jen is still one of the only people who knows everything about me. She “knows” all my friends and I know hers, even though we’ve never met them.

People seem to think that when a friend moves, the friendship has to end; but they’re wrong. It’s not good-bye forever.

A friendship as close as ours doesn’t come along often. When you find your soul mate, you have to hold on, no matter what. We work harder each week to keep our friendship close. The best feeling in the world is knowing that I didn’t lose my best friend. Jen and I will always be best friends, no matter how many miles are between us.